Andre Bauer says GOP presidential race needs boost (AUDIO)

Stepping out of the mainstream of South Carolina politics, former Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer says he is now working to make a living. Bauer says he has thrust himself into the world of real estate.

Now an interested observer of politics, Bauer spoke earlier in the month with Anne Eller of Greenwood affiliate WLMA. Bauer says on the national front the Republican Party faces an uphill climb in its efforts to oust President Barack Obama from the White House, he doesn’t like what he sees right now.

Bauer says he agrees with his party’s message of fiscal responsibility, including lowering the nation’s deficit and making major cuts to government spending. However, he says the GOP has to adopt a more open-door policy to draw in more members from all walks of life that believe in the party’s message.

Bauer says the surge that celebrity billionaire Donald Trump recently experienced in the polls of likely GOP voters illustrates the conundrum the Republican party finds itself in as it tries to identify a viable candidate to oppose President Obama in 2012. Trump announced Monday that he would not make a formal run for the White House and canceled a May 18 visit to Columbia to speak at a Tea Party gathering at the Statehouse.